Michael S. Dosmann

Curator of Living Collections

Education

PhD Horticulture and Ecology, Cornell University
MS Horticulture, Iowa State University
BS Public Horticulture, Purdue University

My primary role is to advocate for and soundly guide the development of this amazing collection of temperate woody species. I work very closely with the rest of the Living Collections Management team to steward a dynamic landscape comprising some 15,000. In addition to other duties, you may find me with our Manager of Horticulture placing stakes in the ground to design new planting areas, as well as reviewing the latest crop of new accessions in the nursery with our Supervisor of Plant Production. We don’t just curate objects (the plants), we curate associations of objects and information. Thus, to ensure these and other documentation needs are met at the highest of standards, I oversee a talented team of curatorial staff who are engaged in field checking, mapping, records management, researcher engagement, taxonomic reviews, voucher collection and preparation, and of course, good old-fashioned sleuthing.

I am involved in a number of scholarly activities that focus on the curation of living plant collections. One of my objectives in the Curatorial Department is to explore new strategies and tactics that improve collections management in botanical gardens and arboreta, as well as other natural history collections. Recent and on-going efforts include initiating new systems for assessing and developing living collections; trialing novel fieldchecking and inventory protocols; improving the management of conservation-status taxa; enhancing access to archival and contemporary documentation; and conducting post hoc analyses to improve germplasm collecting expeditions. Additionally, I participate in floristic efforts through domestic and foreign plant exploration that in turn add to the Arboretum’s living collections.